"If we stay together, Scottish businesses have better opportunities, Scottish consumers have more choice and Scottish people have more secure jobs.

"Why put that great advantage at risk by going into the great unknown?"

Mr Cameron was also given a warning, by the CBI President, over the possibility of Britain withdrawing from the EU.

Sir Mike Rake, said: "We accept that calling a referendum on EU membership is a constitutional issue for government, but the ambiguity has already, and is increasingly, causing real concern for business regarding their future investment.

The CBI was criticised for giving a platform to only one side of the independence debate.

Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow, said: "Staging a dinner with David Cameron rather than a balanced debate makes clear their position as a right-wing partisan lobby group.

"Businesses in Scotland are rightly interested in what independence could mean for them but they deserve to hear a range of views. Scottish Greens see huge opportunities for Scotland to grow a greater variety of businesses, and more sustainable economic policies.

"The CBI's austerity cheerleading, demand for privatisation of public services and continued bleating about tax cuts for highly profitable firms must be challenged, and I believe a Yes vote gives Scotland the opportunity to do just that."

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